Aielia Alpha
GitHub
INSTALL · STEP BY STEP

Install Aielia in a few steps.

Pick how you want to run it. We'll walk you through it one step at a time. The terminal and desktop downloads aren't code-signed yet, so macOS and Windows may warn you the first time; the steps below show you what to click.

I want to use
My computer is

Terminal on macOS · 8 steps

  1. Step 1 of 8

    Open the Terminal app.

    Press ⌘ Space, type “Terminal” and press Enter.

  2. Step 2 of 8

    Paste this line and press Enter.

    It downloads a standalone Aielia (about 120 MB), checks its SHA-256 against the official release manifest, and installs it to ~/.local/bin/aielia. You don't need Node.

    curl -fsSL https://myaielia.com/install.sh | sh
  3. Step 3 of 8

    Check that it worked.

    You should see a version number. If you get “command not found”, add the install folder to your PATH with the second line, then close and reopen Terminal.

    aielia --version
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
  4. Step 4 of 8

    Start Aielia.

    Type the command below in Terminal.

    aielia
  5. Step 5 of 8

    Paste your AI key when asked.

    The first launch asks which provider you use (Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter) and for its API key. There is no Aielia account.

    Your chats are saved as files in ~/.buildaharness/personal-assistant/. File and command access stay off until you turn them on, and anything that changes something waits for your OK.

  6. Step 6 of 8

    If macOS ever blocks it, use Open Anyway.

    Installing this way normally shows no warning. If you downloaded the file by hand instead and macOS refuses it, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click “Open Anyway”.

  7. Step 7 of 8

    You're set. Update any time with one command.

    Re-running the installer also upgrades in place. To uninstall, delete the aielia program; your chats stay until you delete the folder above.

    aielia update
  8. Step 8 of 8

    Already have Node.js? You can skip the install.

    Run Aielia straight from npm instead. This is also the fallback on older Linux systems and anywhere the installer doesn't fit.

    npx @buildaharness/aielia

Terminal on Linux · 7 steps

  1. Step 1 of 7

    Check your Linux is recent enough.

    The Linux program needs glibc 2.35 or newer: Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora 36+ or similar. Older systems (Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 11, RHEL/Rocky 9) and Alpine can use the npm option at the end instead. 64-bit Intel/AMD only.

  2. Step 2 of 7

    Open a terminal and paste this line.

    It downloads a standalone Aielia (about 130 MB), checks its SHA-256 against the official release manifest, and installs it to ~/.local/bin/aielia. You don't need Node.

    curl -fsSL https://myaielia.com/install.sh | sh
  3. Step 3 of 7

    Check that it worked.

    You should see a version number. If you get “command not found”, make sure ~/.local/bin is on your PATH, then open a new terminal.

    aielia --version
  4. Step 4 of 7

    Start Aielia.

    Type the command below.

    aielia
  5. Step 5 of 7

    Paste your AI key when asked.

    The first launch asks which provider you use (Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter) and for its API key. There is no Aielia account.

    Your chats are saved as files in ~/.buildaharness/personal-assistant/. File and command access stay off until you turn them on, and anything that changes something waits for your OK.

  6. Step 6 of 7

    You're set. Update any time with one command.

    Re-running the installer also upgrades in place. To uninstall, delete the aielia program; your chats stay until you delete the folder above.

    aielia update
  7. Step 7 of 7

    Already have Node.js? You can skip the install.

    Run Aielia straight from npm instead. This is also the fallback on older Linux systems and anywhere the installer doesn't fit.

    npx @buildaharness/aielia

Terminal on Windows · 8 steps

  1. Step 1 of 8

    Open PowerShell.

    Press the Windows key, type “PowerShell” and press Enter.

  2. Step 2 of 8

    Paste this line and press Enter.

    It downloads a standalone Aielia (about 90 MB), checks its SHA-256 against the official release manifest, and installs it to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Aielia, adding that folder to your user PATH. You don't need Node.

    irm https://myaielia.com/install.ps1 | iex
  3. Step 3 of 8

    Close PowerShell and open a new window.

    The PATH change only applies to new windows. Then check that it worked:

    aielia --version
  4. Step 4 of 8

    Start Aielia.

    Type the command below.

    aielia
  5. Step 5 of 8

    Paste your AI key when asked.

    The first launch asks which provider you use (Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter) and for its API key. There is no Aielia account.

    Your chats are saved as files in ~/.buildaharness/personal-assistant/. File and command access stay off until you turn them on, and anything that changes something waits for your OK.

  6. Step 6 of 8

    If Windows blocks it, it's probably Smart App Control.

    Smart App Control, on by default on many new Windows 11 PCs, silently blocks unsigned programs, with no “Run anyway” button. Use the browser version or the npm option on the last step, or switch Smart App Control off in Windows Security → App & browser control.

    Switching it off affects every unsigned program, and on older Windows 11 builds it can't be turned back on without resetting Windows.

  7. Step 7 of 8

    You're set. Update any time with one command.

    Re-running the installer also upgrades in place. To uninstall, delete the aielia program; your chats stay until you delete the folder above.

    aielia update
  8. Step 8 of 8

    Already have Node.js? You can skip the install.

    Run Aielia straight from npm instead. This is also the fallback on older Linux systems and anywhere the installer doesn't fit.

    npx @buildaharness/aielia

Desktop app on macOS · 6 steps

  1. Step 1 of 6

    Download the .dmg from GitHub Releases.

    Open the Releases page, find the newest release tagged desktop-v…, and under Assets download the file ending in .dmg. It works on both Intel and Apple silicon Macs.

  2. Step 2 of 6

    Open the .dmg and drag Aielia into Applications.

    Then eject the disk image.

  3. Step 3 of 6

    Open Aielia. macOS will refuse. That's expected.

    You'll see “unidentified developer” or “can't be opened”. The app is not code-signed yet, and macOS blocks apps it can't verify. Click Done or OK, don't move it to the Trash.

  4. Step 4 of 6

    Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.

    Scroll down to the message about Aielia and click “Open Anyway”, then confirm with your password. The button only appears after you've tried to open the app once.

  5. Step 5 of 6

    If it says “damaged” and there's no button, run this once.

    This clears macOS's “downloaded from the internet” mark from this one app. Only do it for a file you downloaded from the official Releases page. Then open Aielia again.

    xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Aielia.app
  6. Step 6 of 6

    Add your AI key in Settings.

    Click the gear icon, choose Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter and paste your key. The desktop app stores it in the macOS Keychain, not in a plain file. To pick a folder Aielia may work in, use Settings → Workspace.

Desktop app on Windows · 6 steps

  1. Step 1 of 6

    Download the setup .exe from GitHub Releases.

    Open the Releases page, find the newest release tagged desktop-v…, and under Assets download the file ending in -setup.exe (or the .msi if your IT team prefers it).

  2. Step 2 of 6

    If your browser warns about the download, choose Keep.

    Edge and Chrome warn about files they don't see often. It's expected for a new, unsigned app.

  3. Step 3 of 6

    Double-click the installer. Windows says “Windows protected your PC”.

    That's SmartScreen. It means Windows doesn't recognise the publisher yet, not that anything was found wrong. Click the small “More info” link.

  4. Step 4 of 6

    Click “Run anyway”, then follow the installer.

    The app needs Microsoft's WebView2, which is already in Windows 11 and up-to-date Windows 10. If it's missing the installer downloads it, so stay online.

  5. Step 5 of 6

    Nothing happened and no warning appeared?

    Smart App Control is probably blocking it silently. Use the browser version or the terminal install with npm instead, or switch Smart App Control off in Windows Security → App & browser control. Switching it off affects all unsigned programs and may be irreversible on older Windows 11 builds. On a work PC, your IT policy may block unsigned installers.

  6. Step 6 of 6

    Open Aielia from the Start menu and add your AI key.

    Click the gear icon, choose Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter and paste your key. The desktop app stores it in a Windows-protected file, not in plain text.

Desktop app on Linux · 5 steps

  1. Step 1 of 5

    Check your Linux is recent enough.

    You need Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora or similar (64-bit Intel/AMD) with WebKitGTK 4.1. There's no security warning on Linux, nothing to bypass.

  2. Step 2 of 5

    Download one file from GitHub Releases.

    Open the Releases page, find the newest release tagged desktop-v…, and under Assets choose .AppImage (any distro), .deb (Ubuntu/Debian) or .rpm (Fedora).

  3. Step 3 of 5

    Install or run it.

    Use the line that matches your download, from the folder the file is in.

    # AppImage: no install needed
chmod +x Aielia_*.AppImage && ./Aielia_*.AppImage

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install ./Aielia_*.deb

# Fedora
sudo dnf install ./Aielia-*.rpm
  4. Step 4 of 5

    AppImage won't start? Install FUSE 2.

    A libfuse.so.2 error means FUSE 2 is missing. On Ubuntu 24.04 and newer the package is libfuse2t64; on older Ubuntu/Debian it's libfuse2; on Fedora, fuse-libs.

    sudo apt install libfuse2t64
  5. Step 5 of 5

    Add your AI key in Settings.

    Click the gear icon, choose Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter and paste your key. It's stored through your keyring (secret-tool); if saving fails, install libsecret-tools and make sure a keyring such as GNOME Keyring is running.

In your browser · 3 steps

  1. Step 1 of 3

    Open myaielia.com/try.

    Any modern browser works. Nothing to download or install: open the browser version.

  2. Step 2 of 3

    Click the gear icon and paste your AI key.

    Choose Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter. The key stays in your browser and is stored unencrypted there, so use a browser profile you trust.

  3. Step 3 of 3

    Start chatting.

    The browser version is chat only: file, command and email tools need the terminal or desktop app.

GOOD TO KNOW

A few extras.

Why is there a security warning?

Apple and Microsoft want developers to buy a signing certificate, so the system can tell who published an app. We haven't yet, so macOS and Windows treat our downloads as coming from an unknown publisher. The warning is about identity, not a detected problem. Only bypass it for files from myaielia.com or github.com/3IVIS/buildaharness/releases. Linux shows no warning. We plan to sign the builds later.

How do I check my download is genuine?

Terminal releases come with a .sha256 file, and the same hashes are in aielia-latest.json. The installers check this for you. To check a manual download:

shasum -a 256 aielia-darwin-arm64        # macOS
sha256sum aielia-linux-x64               # Linux
Get-FileHash .\aielia-win32-x64.exe      # Windows (PowerShell)

The result must match the .sha256 file. Desktop installers don't have published checksums yet.

I downloaded the terminal program by hand. How do I run it?

Get it from the newest aielia-v… release on GitHub Releases. Then, on macOS and Linux, make it runnable; on macOS also clear the download mark; on Windows, unblock it:

chmod +x aielia-darwin-arm64
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine aielia-darwin-arm64   # macOS only
./aielia-darwin-arm64 --version

Unblock-File .\aielia-win32-x64.exe                  # Windows
Where is my data, and how do I uninstall?

Uninstalling never deletes your chats. Delete these folders yourself if you want them gone.

Terminal: ~/.buildaharness/personal-assistant/. Uninstall by deleting the aielia program (Windows: the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Aielia folder and its PATH entry).

Desktop: macOS ~/Library/Application Support/com.buildaharness.assistant/; Linux ~/.local/share/com.buildaharness.assistant/; Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\com.buildaharness.assistant\. The desktop app doesn't update itself yet: install a newer release over the old one.

Can I build it myself instead?

Yes, and a build you compile yourself carries no warning. You need Node.js (we use 22) and, for the desktop app, Rust 1.88 or newer.

git clone https://github.com/3IVIS/buildaharness
cd buildaharness
npm ci
npm run build:harness && npm run build:runtime && npm run build:aielia
npm run dev:desktop
The installer won't overwrite my existing aielia

Something else (often an npm-linked aielia) is already there. Remove it, or re-run with force: curl -fsSL https://myaielia.com/install.sh | sh -s -- --force, or on Windows set $env:AIELIA_FORCE = '1' first.

Still stuck? Open an issue on GitHub with your system, which download you used and the exact message.

AIELIA

Installed? Start here.

Begin with a simple question, then ask for something serious like sending an email, and watch Aielia stop and ask first. This is an early alpha; read how it works before turning on file or command access.

How it works → Try in your browser →